Two research studies from Johns Hopkins and New York University show that psilocybin is an effective therapy for depression and anxiety in cancer patients. These studies are a huge step toward legalization of psilocybin as a prescription medicine. From the New York Times article:

About 80 percent of cancer patients showed clinically significant reductions in both psychological disorders, a response sustained some seven months after the single dose. Side effects were minimal. … In both trials, the intensity of the mystical experience described by patients correlated with the degree to which their depression and anxiety decreased.

Octavian Mihai at his home in Las Vegas. Mr. Mihai began experiencing anxiety after he finished treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Credit Isaac Brekken for The New York Times

Leave a Comment

Geoff Gilpin has been a professional writer for over 30 years. His memoir The Maharishi Effect: A Personal Journey Through the Spiritual Movement That Transformed America was published by Tarcher/Penguin. His current research explores the scientific, clinical, and spiritual aspects of the psychedelic experience.